Go for the less run-of-the mill Central American options at El Cuscatleco
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The menu at El Cuscatleco advertises Mexican, Sal-va-dorian and Honduran fare, but your best bet is to forgo the rancheros, tortas and fajitas in favor of less run-of-the mill Central American options, namely the aperitivos. All meals begin with complimentary tortilla chips deep-fried in-house and drizzled with soupy refried beans, salty crumbles of queso fresco and crema, and little bowls of mild red and green salsa. (If you were in the market for something with a little Mexican accent, there you go.) Post nachos, you can dive into a selection of Salvadorian and Honduran starters like papusas and baleadas. El Cuscatleco’s papusas are doughy, hand-formed rounds of corn masa stuffed with chicharon (fatty, chopped pork that goes perfectly with a spoonful of salsa verde), cheese and beans or, even better, cheese and loroco, a tender, edible flower bud native to El Salvador and Guatemala. On the Honduran side of the menu are baleadas, oversized quesadillas made with flour tortillas folded over and filled with beans, scrambled eggs, cheese and perfectly ripe slices of avocado.
Perhaps the best time to get yourself to El Cuscatleco is weekend mornings when the kitchen prepares Salvadorian breakfast specials like nuegados y plantanos con miel y chilate, yucca patties and fried plantains with brown-sugar syrup and a side of atole (a creamy, hot-corn drink), and empandas de poleadas y cafe, plantain pies filled with milk pudding and served with sweet, milky coffee.
El Cuscatleco | 29 Garrett Rd., 484-461-3156, elcuscatlecorestaurant.com. Hours: Sun. - Thu., 9 a.m. - 10 p.m.; Fri. - Sat., 9 a.m. - 11 p.m. Recommended dishes: Papusas, Salvadorian hot dogs, stuffed plantains, baleadas.
